OL Reign Legend: Nyema Clark – Founder and Executive Director of Nurturing Roots Farm
The Legends Campaign, a partnership between OL Reign and Starbucks, honors women for their extraordinary contributions to our community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Prior to the September 26 match against Orlando Pride, OL Reign recognized the founder and Executive Director of Nurturing Roots Farm, Nyema Clark, for her commitment to bettering the community.
Clark founded Nurturing Roots in 2016 on Beacon Hill in Seattle. Since then, Nurturing Roots has become a thriving urban farm and community farming program. Through her work, she has earned the nickname “The Farm Queen.”
Clark’s passion for food began as a child. She spent time with her mom in the kitchen, checking out new recipes. Trying these new recipes brought her a sense of empowerment in that she was able to provide a meal that her family loved. She carried this same energy into Nurturing Roots. The farm is a way to empower people to design their own lifestyle around food and self-sufficiency.
Clark was deeply involved in the community, even in her youth. In high school, she organized with Seattle Young People’s Project for a new, more inclusive history curriculum in Seattle Public Schools. She has also organized with No New Youth Jail and Black Prisoners’ Caucus
Nurturing Roots started was Clark’s dream to create something for the community that focused on re-engaging people of color with the environment and providing a space for the community to be involved in healthy activities and grow their own food. She transformed an overgrown patch intro the urban farm it is today with fruit trees, vegetables, herbs and chickens.
Nurturing Roots values community, self-sufficiency, food empowerment, social justice and education. The farm has brought together the community by providing volunteer opportunities, hosting events and partnering with local restaurants. It is a Black led and womxn run urban farm. The farm is not-for-profit, and volunteer driven and truly emphasizes the importance of food and environmental justice, while bringing attention to the truth about systemic oppression.
“Supporting Nurturing Roots is all about digging into humanity, whether it's planting a seed sharing knowledge or power. It's all about us looking to each other and within ourselves to find greater solutions and impact our world in a better way. Also visiting or farm space donations and sharing your experience,” said Clark.
Clark is also active in the community in many other ways. She is an organizing keyholder of the Black Power Epicenter Collective, as well as a small business owner and founder. In addition, Clark advocates for the incarcerated and has organized with No New Youth Jail and Black Prisoners’ Caucus. A Seattle native, she is committed to enriching underserved communities, sharing the truth about systemic oppression and re-engaging the community with our environment. Her strength and goals are founded in youth empowerment and community economic sustainability.
“Young women especially women of color are often unrepresented in most leadership positions,” said Clark. “I always encourage young women to see themselves in any space and to be unafraid to stand in it... even if for a moment you're standing by yourself. I'm a proud black female farmer and we are on the rise!”
Nurturing Roots farm welcomes the community with open arms, inviting people to show up to farm, get their hands dirty and most importantly, learn. Volunteers learn all about the plants and valuable new skills and can walk away with a sense of accomplishment, as well as a share of the crop that has been harvested.
Beyond the typical farming, Nurturing Roots is a space that hosts community farm-to-table dinners, yoga therapy, archery class and gardening workshops that over a variety of topics, from the basics on planting to creating herbal seasoning mixes and body care products. These are a great opportunity to learn a new skill while also delving into conversations about systemic oppression and the way that is interlaced with the food system.
When the pandemic hit, Nurturing Roots adapted to continue to find ways to build community and self-sufficiency, by distributing “Grow at Home” boxes with free vegetable starts and info sheets with grow tips for beginning gardeners when he pandemic prevented people from gathering at the farm. Clark also worked to share the message and mission behind Nurturing Roots on social media. They got funding and support from Seattle Foundation’s Neighbor to Neighbor program and also produced a series of short instructional videos they call “Nurturing Roots at Home.”
In the future, Clark hopes to expand Nurturing Roots and provide more opportunities for people to get involved and learn more about the farm and their mission. You can learn more about Nurturing Roots by checking out their website and following them on Instagram.
“Becoming an OL Reign Legend was surreal I especially appreciated being able to share this moment with my family and friends. My home state is recognizing a lot of our hard work and I'm just happy to give back and keep making my ancestors proud,” said Clark.